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LEHMAN TWP. — Dunmore resident Stephen Brush was flying down Route 118 on his bike two weeks ago when disaster almost struck.

A car nearly sideswiped him, so he swerved to avoid contact. But at 30 miles an hour, the sudden movement caused his front tire to slice open, and he flew off the bike before landing 20 feet down road on his left side.

His arm and leg were scraped up and he felt a bit woozy. A couple who’d heard the commotion from their home drove Brush to his car in Harveys Lake.

Two hours later, he swam two miles at his local YMCA.

Two weeks later, he became a champion.

Brush, 26, won the 33rd Wilkes-Barre Triathlon on Sunday in 2 hours, 20 minutes, 14 seconds, more than six minutes ahead of runner-up Robert Gould of Drums.

“I definitely thought (winning) was realistic, especially since two guys who usually do this race (three-time defending champion Sean Robbins and 2013 runner-up Timothy Felegie) were not doing it,” Brush said. “I thought this was my chance to maybe come up victorious.”

Brush grew up in Hillsborough, New Jersey, and attended Lock Haven University, where he played baseball. A right-handed pitcher, he had two shoulder surgeries before blowing out his elbow during his senior year.

Brush made his Wilkes-Barre Triathlon debut last year with a runner-up finish in the sprint race, which he used to prepare for a triathlon the following month.

This year, he moved up to the Olympic distance, which is a 1.5-kilometer swim and 40-kilometer bike ride capped off by an 11-kilometer run.

He completed the swim leg in 23:12, exited the water in second place and took the lead for good early in the bike ride. His bike time of 1:05:25 was the fastest among the 125 Olympic distance finishers.

Women

Building her own local dynasty as a triathlete, Shavertown resident Kelly Ciravolo on Sunday won her fifth Wilkes-Barre Triathlon in eight years.

Ciravolo finished first among women — and third overall — in the 33rd annual Wilkes-Barre Triathlon with a time of 2 hours, 28 minutes, 31 seconds. The second-place female finisher was Charlene Aquilina of Wyoming with a time of 2:40:30.

Now a seasoned vet of the Back Mountain course, Ciravolo, 35, looked back on her start as a late bloomer. Her first run at the Wilkes-Barre Triathlon came in 2006.

“I had no idea what I was doing,” Ciravolo said of her 2006 run. “I always ran casually and I did it and I love it.”

But the former Kelly Ochreiter won her first race the following year and hasn’t slowed down since, adding titles in 2008, 2010 and 2011 before Sunday’s victory.

To this day, running remains Ciravolo’s strong suit. The 11-kilometer run, which she finished in 45:54, was first among all competitors Sunday.

Despite her victory and strong finish, Ciravolo said things did not go as planned.

“I came out of swimming and thought, ‘Oh, my God, what’s going on? I was slow,’” she said. “I just figured I’d have to hammer the rest of the race, which I wasn’t looking forward to.”

The triathlon consists of a 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike ride and 11-kilometer run from Harveys Lake to Penn State Wilkes-Barre.

While she excelled in the running leg, even in the swimming portion, which she admittedly said she didn’t do so well, she finished with a solid time of 28:15 — good for 19th among all Olympic-distance competitors.

Ciravolo said she gave it her all Sunday with her husband, Scott, their two children, Gemma and Tuula, and numerous friends on hand, including Karen McLaughlin and Cathy Kuklinski.

McLaughlin and Kuklinski teamed up in the relay portion of the Wilkes-Barre Triathlon and in the past have competed with and against Ciravolo.

Results

Olympic

Top 50

1. Stephen Brush, Dunmore, 2:20:14

2. Robert Gould, Drums, 2:26:43

3. Kelly Ciravolo, Shavertown, 2:28:31

4. Andy McDonald, Clarks Summit, 2:29:18

5. Andrew Morgan, Clarks Summit, 2:31:25

6. Matthew Nebzydoski, Montrose, 2:32:14

7. Randy Stanfield, Gilbertsville, 2:33:24

8. Alex Spott, Scranton, 2:33:43

9. Mike Adamschick, Dallas, 2:35:51

10. Kim Hawkins, Moscow, 2:35:59

11. Jarrod Baranowski, Lancaster 2:35:36

12. William Deemer, Kingston, 2:38:43

13. Scott Skammer, Dallas, 2:38:43

14. Timothy Craven, Kington, 2:39:05

15. Joshua Allgaier, Ambler, 2:39;14

16. Marc Eder, Princeton, N.J., 2:39:32

17. Jerome Washo, Montrose, 2:39:53

18. Craig Borders, Carbondale, 2:40:30

19. Charlene Aquilinia, Wyoming, 2:40:30

20. Daniel Edwards, Burlington, N.J., 2:40:43

21. William Eggleston, Binghamton, N.Y., 2:42:19

22. Brian Hilburt, Wilkes-Barre, 2:42:50

23. Jessica Chesman, Dallas, 2:43:14

24. Douglas Yeager, Dallas, 2:43:37

25. Lindsay Leigh, Harrisburg, 2:43:52

26. Jack Davis, Scranton, 2:43:58

27. Robert Oley, Dallas, 2:46:00

28. Thomas Pollock, Sugarloaf, 2:46:07

29. Raymond Fabrizio, Philadelphia, 2:46:48

30. Laura Cedergren, Gilbertsville, 2:47:57

31. Charles Eckman, Dallas, 2:48:55

32. Kelly Adamschick, Dallas, 2:49:41

33. John Loforte, Freeland, 2:49:45

34. Ryan Walp, Dallas, 2:49:46

35. Jared Barilla, Swoyersville, 2:50:00

36. Brad Thomas, Trucksville, 2:50:03

37. Oliver Mellet, Philadelphia, 2:51:42

38. Aaron Pickarski, Moscow, 2:51:55

39. Con McCole, Wilkes-Barre, 2:51:59

40. Michele Covington, Olyphant, 2:52:11

41. Robert Guzzi, Dalton, 2:52:18

42. Kerry Potter, West Pittston, 2:52:55

43. Anah Bozentka,Kingston, 2:53:44

44. Troy Reinert, Shavertown, 2:53:44

45. Patrick O’Dell, Beacon Falls, Conn., 2:54:06

46. Stephen Taren, Kingston, 2:54:21

47. Erin Hannigan, West Pittston, 2:54:33

48. John Tulaney, Dunmore, 2:54:55

49. Steve Decker, Robesonia 2:57:29

50. Colleen Morda, Forty Fort, 2:58.27

Local finishers

54. Katherine Weaver, Scranton, 3:00:35

55. Geoff Oldham, Mountain Top, 3:00:55

59. Marcus Magyar, Forty Fort, 3:02:38

60. James Albert, Pittston, 3:02:47

62. James Kilgallon, Forty Fort, 3:03:47

63. John Lynott, Clarks Summitm 3:04:07

67. David Grilz, Wilkes-Barre, 3:04:41

70. Joe McHugh, Edwardsville, 3:05:25

71. Robert Cicci, Peckville, 3:07:21

73. Richard Pais, Wilkes-Barre, 3:08:46

74. Susan O’Connor, Scranton, 3:11:37

77. Joelle Fair, Scotrun, 3:12:10

87. Gregory Martin, Moosic, 3:17:07

88. Kelly Dinan, Mountain Top, 3:17:12

93. Morgan Manglaviti, Lake Winola, 3:19:41

98. Bill Fiore, Clarks Green, 3:24:01

109. Brian Donahue, Scranton, 3:29:39

121. Bruce Palevac, Scranton, 3:39:51

125. Michele Brown, Tunkhannock, 3:46:53

130. Bridget White, Tunkhannock, 4:01:13

AQUABIKE

1. Kevin Augustine, Wyoming, 1:53:38

2. Wayne Devine, Harveys Lake, 2:03:53

3. Paul Adams, Doylestown, 2:06:33

4. Don Sebastian, 2:11:51

5. Thomas Boylan, Clifford Township, 2:15:05

6. William Ciaravino, Vestel, N.Y., 2:20:31

7. Peter Gladstone, Nazareth, 2:24:19

SPRINT COURSE

1. Matthew Stephens, Lewisburg, 1:29:15

2. Jonathan Bilbow, Mountain Top, 1:32:54

3. Charles Fino, Taylor, 1:38:34

4. Jeffrey Miller, Sugarloaf, 1:43:15

5. James Pepel, Staten Island, N.Y., 1:43:16

6. Nadalie Solomon, Nuangola, 1:43:40

7. Allen Hall, Philadelphia, 1:45:15

8. John Orloski, Lake Ariel, 1:46:20

9. Paul Hoda, White Haven, 1:47:25

10. Lou Ciampi, Wyoming, 1:48;56

Local finishers

11. Michael Wilczynski, Mountain Top, 1:49;10

17. Nicole Sennett, Mountain Top, 1:55:10

19. Alyssa Romano, Harveys Lake, 1:56:17

22. Phil Pisano, Pittston, 1:57:28

24. Paul Keeler, South Abington Twp, 1:57:54

27. Megan Crawford, Harveys Lake, 1:59:58

32. Anna Ristau, Clarks Summit, 2:02:33

37. John Schultz, Dunmore, 2:04:18

39. Elissa Jacob, Tunkhannock, 2:04:55

40. Anne Bramblett, West Pittston, 2:05:03

42. Garrett Barr, West Pittston, 2:06:32

47. Mike Bickley, Clarks Summit, 2:12:05

50. Susan Mulholland, Taylor, 2:14:51

51. Jeff Smith, Harvey Lake, 2:15:27

53. John Knowles, Scranton, 2:16:14

54. Keith Walsh, Philadelphia, 2:17:13

55. Melissa Scartelli, Scranton, 2:17:29

57. Jay Nardone, Moosic, 2:18:38

58. Lyle Burling, Dunmore, 2:18:44

62. Kyle Freeman, Harveys Lake, 2:20:14

64. Jared Kotsko, Mountain Top, 2:21:56

65. Matt Vacendak, Clarks Summit, 2:22:42

66. Anthony Waldron, Hawley, 2:38;18

67. Tia Kavulich, Scranton, 2:23:35

71. Alexei Walutes, Hawley, 2:28:41

77. Matt Roses, Lake Ariel, 2:40:24

81. Brian Sapak, Mountain Top, 2:52:55

83. Patti O’Hora, Lake Ariel, 2:56:20

86. Abigail Call, Harveys Lake, 3:10:28

87. Kathleen Ford, Harveys Lake, 3:12:14

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